These are the Days of our lives...

My Mom and Lyle were happy to see us.  They have a home on Schuy-Rush Lake in Rushville, Illinois.  They had not seen my sister for 4 years.  I wonder where the line is where you are proud to tell everyone how old you are.  13, 21?  Then the over the hill age, 30, 40, 50.  Then the happy to be alive age! 70, 80 and 90.  Lyle will be 88 on February 12, 2011 and my Mother will be 80 on March 8, 2011.  They still put out a garden and Lyle mows over an acre of grass.  I think that is what is keeping them young. We were admiring the flowers, when I had the fright of my life.  I have been saying for years that I would like to see a snake so I could see if I could still run. Holy Crap!  These are just rubber snakes to keep the squirrels out of the flower beds! I love this picuture of my Mom.  She is so happy all the time.    Lyle is checking the outside temperature.  I don't know what my Mother' did, b...

My sister Connie flew from Seattle to Dallas and rode in the motor home with us to Rushville to see our Mother and step-dad, Lyle. We have a Verizon internet card and we can get online as we go down the road.  Connie is ready to go RVing.   We routed our trip through Arkansas and Missouri. We called our good RV'ing friends who live in Arkansas and they were camp hosts at Lake Catherine State Park, south of Hot Springs, Arkansas and only 12 miles off of the interstate. We stopped there for the night and set up camp. AW and Mike are have a relaxing chat! If RV'ing was easy, everyone would do it! As always, RV'ers can whip up a meal in minutes.  We had hot dogs that Mike cooked on the grill, Jolly brought over some food and instant party.  Jolly made the best pickles.  You slice up a gallon jar of dill pickles, and layer them with 4 cups of sugar.  Add a botter of hot peppers, and shake until the sugar is dissolved.  You let them soak ...

When I first met Mike, my sister worked with his Mother, Kay.  Connie would take me to their house to play cards.  We would play until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning.  Friday night we played cards until Midnight.  We felt like it was 4:00am.  We had three tables of Eucher and then played pass the Ace.  The Kids love that game. Astrid is quite the card shark.  We had a lot of fun.  Skip, Bud, Connie, Judy, Ashley, Robert, Kay Astrid, Skip, Bud, Connie, Judy, Ashley, Robert, Kay, Mike, Michelle and Deb

Mike's step-father, Roy A. Hess, died August 2, 2010.  He had been sick for years with heart and lung problems and then cancer.  He was buried at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery in Duncanville, Texas on August 27, 2010.  Roy was a World War II and Korean Veteran.  We arrived in Dallas on July 7th and were very happy to spend the last month with Mike's Dad.    Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery